The so-called “McCarthy Era” is commonly pictured (and ridiculed) as a bunch of paranoid alarmists running around believing there was a Communist under every rock.

Sadly, they were right, and those Reds have crawled out from under their rocks and taken their seats in the halls of congress – under the auspices of the Democratic Party!

The cat was never more unceremoniously let out of the bag than with Maxine Waters’ recent pronouncement of her intention to SOCIALIZE… er.. ahh… TAKE OVER the oil industry!

Then, in response to the President’s call to open new areas to oil drilling, Reps Hinchey, Emanuel, Markey and others have all started making noises about government control of the industry.

Hinchey stated, “We should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.” Of course by “We” he meant Government. Not the American People. After all, the American People ALREADY own the refineries! The oil companies are PUBLICLY HELD companies. SHAREHOLDERS (the American People) DO own them. What Hinchey wants is an expansion of Government power by a TAKEOVER of the energy industry – just like Hillary wanted a Government takeover of the healthcare industry.

The Democrats are opposing “Drill Here, Drill Now”. Why?

Well, firstly they are beholden to the environmental lobby, which opposes any and all expansion of energy production even though it can be done in an environmentally responsible way.

More insidiously, the Democrats DO NOT want solutions! They are empowered by crises and by dependency. DOING anything that actually moves us toward SOLVING a problem weakens government… which is against their genetic makeup. Doing so during a presidential election campaign season is completely out of the question! So instead, they play wet blanket for any proposal which might actually address the problem.

The latest mantra is to oppose opening new areas for exploration is to state that the oil companies have millions of acres leased already that are not being exploited. Of course, much of the allotted property is not being exploited because it turned up dry. Also, some WOULD be producing if it were not for environmentalist challenges to drilling in areas already leased! They’ve been keeping the oil companies tied up in court battles instead of out drilling.

Interestingly, there ARE producing offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Katrina blew some off station and ONTO SHORE. (Note to environmentalists: How much oil was spilled? NONE! Where was the environmental disaster that offshore drilling is supposed to cause?) It has taken time to get those rigs back online. Do those count in the Dems estimation of leased areas not producing?

I would call upon the oil companies to assemble and release facts and figures on the leased areas to show exactly what is being done and where. The public needs factual information to cut thru the obfuscations.

There are proven reserves, more easily exploited, that have never been opened to drilling. WHY would we NOT go get them? NO OTHER NATION on the face of the earth restricts its own ability to exploit their own natural energy resources!

Yes, we should pursue alternative energy… but while those technologies are developing the fact remains that the engine that is the United States runs on gasoline and is lubricated with oil.

Why would we continue our dependency on unfriendly foreign sources of oil when we can drill for our own. Why would we subject the planet to the environmental risks and impacts of SHIPPING billions of barrels of oil across the ocean on tanker ships, when we can PIPELINE it right to new refineries? Why won’t Democrats ALLOW us to reduce our dependency at a time when our economy is TANKING because of it?

The farce that masquerades as the 2008 Presidential Campaign keeps astonishing me as to the depths to which some will sink, and the shallowness of character of some individuals! This campaign has broken new ground in bar lowering!

So now “associations” are the big issue. Barak Obama is so deeply involved with so many unsavory characters that his Teflon candidacy seems to have developed some scratches to which things are actually starting to stick. Common folk on the street are actually starting to ASSOCIATE him with his associates! I needn’t mention names – his associations are becoming common knowledge.

GASP! He must respond!

The first line of defense is to deny that one’s associations don’t matter! But if that’s true, then why has the Left spent 8 years seeking to damage Bush by attacking Rove, Chaney (and Halliburton), Libby, etc – and seeking to find any possible dirt on any of Bush’s “cronies”?

So next they attack McCain for accepting the endorsement of a Pastor who has made controversial statements about the Catholic Faith. Pastor Hagee has made statements based on his understanding of biblical doctrine and theology, and has highlighted differences between his faith and the teachings and doctrines of Roman Catholicism – in sometimes insensitive and politically incorrect ways. The Obama camp seeks to draw some equivalence between Hagee’s endorsement of McCain, and Obama’s long term relationship with another controversial pastor!

But one must draw a distinction between an “acquaintance” and an “associate”! McCain was not a member of Hagee’s church, did not have a long-term close personal relationship, did not receive “spiritual counsel”, or consider him like family. Hagee didn’t unite McCain and his wife in matrimony. Hagee didn’t baptize his kids. McCain did not place his children under Hagee’s tutelage. He did not contribute to Hagee’s church. And when Hagee made subsequent controversial statements, McCain denounced Hagee and renounced his endorsement. He didn’t defend Hagee as his “crazy uncle”. The attempt to soil McCain with Hagee failed.

So now, an advisor to McCain who, as an attorney doing his job working for a law firm, had represented lobbyists, and the Left now claims this makes him somehow tainted. This is somehow supposed to befoul McCain.

Is that the best the Obama camp can come up with? Seems to me, on the “Associations” issue, Obama is clearly the loser! His close friends, mentors, and 20 year associates are dubious at best, and odious in the minds of many. One naturally questions Obama’s character, or at least his judgment, when presented with the preponderance of unsavory characters in Obama’s inner circle of close personal relationships. You ARE known by the company you keep!

Obama’s response by attacking second-order associations – an associate of an associate - is not only specious and disingenuous, but is laughably irrelevant! McCain is somehow tainted by an associate of an associate? If memory serves, the entire population of the planet is supposed to be associated within 6 degrees of separation! Is ANYONE untainted by second and third orders of relationship? Such attacks only serve to make Obama seem desperate to counter his own relationship problems!

If associates of associates (and THEIR associates) is to become a criterion by which we judge the participants in our political system… then I can hardly wait for Kevin Bacon to do something unsavory – as this will instantly disqualify the entire Hollywood population from involving themselves in political life!

Doug Edelman is a conservative political commentator and a contributing editor for The Conservative Voice. His work is also seen on News By Us, The American Daily, The Post Chronicle, New Media Journal, Capitol Hill Coffee House etc. For the support of his family, however, he is also an IT Consultant/Contractor and owner of a Computer Services Business. He has taught PC Maintenance & Repair and Networking at his local Community College, and maintains a blog at http://edeldoug.blogs.com/.